The best thing that can be said of Les Miserables, the movie directed by Tom Hooper based on the
musical of the same name (which itself is based on a novel by Victor Hugo), is
that it doesn't fail for lack of trying. Sure, some of the performances are a
little lazy, but at least it feels like work was put into the staging and
execution. The film tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a man who
commits himself to God and goodly works after his release from jail and his
fleeing from parole. He inadvertently wrongs the angelic and
